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The Messenger St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church of the Deaf August 2004

http://stbarnabasdeaf.edow.org

A Congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

Office 301-907-9740 V/TTY

email: StBarnabasDeaf@aol.com

Vicar The Rev Barbara A. Allen

301-907-7855 V/TTY revbaallen@aol.com

Senior Warden

Marlene Hines, RdyMar@aol.com Weekly 10 AM Holy Eucharist Service

With Healing Service 3rd Sundays St. Mary's Chapel at St. John’s, Norwood

6701 Wisconsin Avenue at Bradley Lane, Chevy Chase, MD. 20815

Satellite Congregations

Signed Eucharist at St. George’s Glenn Dale on last Sunday of each month at 1:30 PM at 7010 Glenn Dale Road in

Glenn Dale, MD Signed Eucharist at Ascension Church Gaithersburg on the first Sunday of the

month at 3 PM at 205 S. Summit Ave Gaithersburg, MD

Gallaudet University Ministry Ely Center Room 114 Wednesdays 1-5

PM during the Academic Year A Light Supper followed by a Discussion group is held at 5 PM each Wednesday Holy Eucharist Services are held in the

Gallaudet University AtriumChapel(Student Union Bldg) the Second Sunday of the Month at 2 p.m.

Forthcoming Special Events The Episcopal Conference of the Deaf Convention will meet at Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, MD August 18-22, with an ECD Board meeting August 16-17. On the first night, August 18, Bishop John Bryson Chane , Eighth Bishop of Washington, will join us for dinner. The Opening Eucharist will follow. Bishop Chane will be our Celebrant. Our Vicar will con-celebrate with Bishop Chane in sign language. On Friday the 20th there will be a tour of the Air/Space Museum in Virginia and a workshop by Steve Hamerdinger. On Saturday the 21st there will be a cookout with a choice of chicken, salmon or London Broil The 3PM service at Ascension in Gaithersburg will resume on Sept 5.

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The Pastor’s Corner This summer has been very busy and at the same time very satisfying. One of the highlights for me was a visit with my family. I flew to Syracuse, NY the first week in June to celebrate my little granddaughter's birthday. On June 5th she was four. I cannot believe that we have had her for four whole years. As many of you know, she is adopted from China. What a blessing she is! Thinking about time reminds me that we have a very short span of time here on this earth. It seems like we are no sooner born than we find ourselves getting older. It is important that we make the most of every day we have. By that, I do not mean that we must stay busy. In fact, I mean just the opposite. We need to observe the world around us, pay attention to the lives of others. Be prepared to work for positive change in our lives. We need to "stop and smell the roses" as someone has said.

God never intended that we scurry about from morning to night, moving faster and faster. I am reminded of the words attributed to Jesus in Luke 12:27, "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these". Take time to stop and pay attention to the world around you. Take note of all the blessings that are yours. Watch your children and grandchildren grow strong and healthy. Note those who are in need and answer their need when you are able. Those of you who are married or have serious relationships take time to be with each other. We do not know how much time we have. We must savor every minute, hour and day. May God grant each of you the wisdom and patience to stop and just be. Your pastor, Barbara+

News from among us This news item came to our attention too late to make it into our last newsletter. As many of you know by now, Micheal Martin had surgery in late May to remove his gallbladder at Greater Southeast Community Hospital. He is also back home and recovered. Although we are glad that Michael received necessary health care and is

better now, we are sorry to report that he did not receive adequate interpreting services at the hospital. In fact, Michael did not find out that the operation he underwent was to remove his gallbladder until after the operation was complete. On June 2 Michael writes:

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Last Tuesday early morning of May 25, I called 911 to get an ambulance. They stopped to take me up to go to the Great Southern Community Hospital…. My Ulcer was being painful. They took me up for a CAT scan. They were found out my Ulcer and explained me that his Ulcer was badly serious with Gall. I stayed in the hospital for few days. My doctor took me up to go surgery last Friday afternoon at 3 PM. My Gall surgery was completed in two hours and finally no pain. I said Thank You to my doctor. I just stayed at the hospital for a few days. This afternoon, I was released from Greater Southeast Community Hospital and stayed to rest my apartment now. I am really feeling much better now. Kiombo Nsumbu reported from Kinshasa, the Congo on June 17: “Am fine here. Things have been busy... Everyone at the deaf center is going well... The trouble occured in the capital, where I live, everything is now fine.” Barbara visited Ruth Phillips on June 19th. Ruth continues to do well. She was cheerful and talkative. She does become confused at times but it is fairly easy to redirect her. She loves to participate in Holy Communion which the Vicar takes to her about once a month. It is interesting that even when she is a bit confused and may not recognize other things, when the Vicar brings out the Communion set and the bread and wine Ruth seems to immediately understand what will be next. Mary Malzkuhn is continuing her recovery and is now back home. The Vicar visits Mary regularly and brings her Holy Communion. Mary's son and family recently visited her and Eric.

They were so pleased to have some time with Max. The Vicar learned that Mary and Max were the original sign language teachers for Koko, the signing gorilla. They shared some humorous and very interesting stories of their experiences. Phoebe Tharp went to the hospital on July 22 after having a small heart attack. She returned home on July 24 and is tired but better. Barbara visited her on July 25. Ed Knight and Michael Martin visited Leira Wurdemann at Brook Grove retirement home on July 25. Leira is very quiet and forgetful now so it is hard to assess how much she understands, but her eyes lit up when she watched Ed and Michael chat in sign language with another visitor, which shows she does have some understanding. She could sign “amen” when we prayed with her. After the July 11 service there was a cake in honor of July birthdays, including the birthdays of both Jim and Ginny Lindsay. Afterwards Ed Knight, Michael Martin and Shelley Simms visited National Cathedral. We ran into Ed’s former coworker Stanley Utterback, who works as verger at the Cathedral. Stanley gave us a tour of Bethlehem Chapel, which in 1912 was the first part of the Cathedral to be completed. We saw the tomb of Bishop Satterley. Afterward Micheal Martin found that there was a vacancy for part-time stock room clerk at the Cathedral store and he picked up an application. He turned it in and got a job interview. Best wishes to Michael in his job search. Mae Lynn Mullen recently completed three weeks vocational training at the Maryland Workforce Training Center in

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Baltimore. She will be returning for four more weeks for additional training in Word Processing and may continue for another 8 months of training. She will be living at WTC during the week and staying at a friend’s home in Baltimore on weekends. Best wishes to Mae Lynn in her training program and her career future. Ginny Lindsay reports that she and Jim have helped her 90-year old father Clifford Doctermann move from Long Island to live with them in their home in Rockville. Best wishes to the Lindsay family in their new living arrangement. The Rev. Mary C. Sulerud, Canon for Ministry and Resource Development, recently sent a letter that includes the following excerpt: “I am writing to thank you and your congregation for your generous support of the 2004 Bishop’s Appeal. A total of $425 has been contributed thus far from 3 members of your congregation…The generosity shown by your congregation supports a number of diocesan ministry efforts including low and no cost independent consultant services for congregations and schools in the areas of congregational development, capital campaigns and campus ministry; our partnership with the church in the Province of Southern Africa and our companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of the Honduras; support for a missioner from the Diocese to Spanish-speaking people and expanded youth events and training for youth leaders. This work and the other ministries are being underwritten by the generosity of your congregational gift and the individual gifts of your members.”

Report on 2004 Deaf-Blind Camp By Ed Knight St. Barnabas’ members Ginny Lindsay, Shelley Simms and I volunteered at West River Deaf-Blind Camp, which was held June 12 – 18. It was Shelley’s first time at the camp. Ginny and I had volunteered at the camp before. This year Ginny volunteered for part of the week. I had volunteered for a day or two before but this was my first time spending the whole week at camp. 45 deaf-blind campers attended, including about 20 from the D.C, Maryland, Northern Virginia area. There were about two volunteers per camper. Another term for volunteer is SSP (support services provider). SSPs included deaf and hearing, family members, friends of deaf-blind people, church volunteers and professional interpreters. Not all of the deaf-blind people and SSPs knew sign language. Some of the deaf-blind relied on residual hearing and did not require signing SSPs. All of the announcements and official parts of the program were voice interpreted. Some SSPs and campers came from as far away as England and Africa. This was the eighth year of the Deaf-Blind Camp, which was started by the Rev. Dr. Peggy Johnson, a Methodist minister of a deaf church in Baltimore, and Frank Spiker, a deaf-blind man who is a stay-at-home father. The first year there were six deaf-blind campers and camp has grown each year until now it has reached capacity. This year the worship was led by the Rev. Cyril Axelrod, a Roman Catholic priest from England who is deaf-blind. Father Cyril celebrated mass on Sunday (reciting the liturgy from memory) and also conducted a healing service

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anointing each person with holy oil, where he made the sign of the cross on the forehead and hand of the deaf-blind camper and their SSP.

It was inspiring to receive (and at the same time help a deaf-blind person receive) communion and anointing from a deaf-blind priest. Father Cyril also accepted the confessions of those campers and SSPs of the Roman Catholic faith attending the camp. I should mention that the worship services were optional. Although it is a Christian camp, the deaf-blind camp serves campers of different faiths and is also blessed with SSPS of different faiths. Every morning there was a Bible Study hour. Father Cyril gave a sermon but also other deaf-blind campers gave testimonies. (This was interesting to me as an Episcopalian learning about this worship expression which is a part of some Methodist worship and also the worship services of Evangelical-free and Pentecostal churches. Although the Roman Catholic liturgy was very familiar

to me as an Episcopalian, watching people give personal testimonies was rather new to me.) It was a privilege to learn about the faith journeys and insights of deaf-blind people, some of which were old friends but with whom I had never discussed religion. There were too many activities to list them all, but some of the highlights for me were riding a tandem bike, learning a little Tai Chi, and watching deaf-blind campers dance. (I am not a dancer but my deaf-blind campers were skilled at dancing. All I had to tell my campers was if the dance was fast or slow and they danced accordingly and with enthusiasm.) Deaf-Blind camp is something you need to experience first-hand to comprehend. Deaf-blind people sometimes lead isolated lives. No wonder then that the deaf-blind campers showed so much joy in the fellowship of camp, and their joy was contagious. Many campers and SSPs attend year after year, building memories and a true feeling of family. The Deaf-Blind camp has humor, fun, ecumenical spirituality, and fellowship in a beautiful setting. Thank you to St. Barnabas’ members who donated money to camp and thank you to Shelley and Ginny for volunteering. More SSPs are always welcome. If you are not comfortable with tactile interpreting the camp can use you in other ways like helping to set up or clean up. I can’t wait to go again next year!

Ginny Lindsay is an experienced and skilled SSP.

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Mission Committee Meeting Report On June 20, the Mission Committee met to discuss how to grow St. Barnabas'. Ideas focused on growing the ministry at Ascension Chapel in Gaithersburg. One idea was to have Bible Study meetings in the home of one persons who has been attending the Gaithersburg service and who lives in walking distance of the chapel . Another idea was to add a weekly signed Morning Prayer service at Ascension, which could be led by a lay reader and would not require the presence of a priest. (We would continue to have a Holy Eucharist service on on the first Sunday of each month. We will be discussing how to implement this possibility perhaps employing the services of our Consultant for Deaf Ministry.) We did a poll of the Mission Committee members and for all , except Ed Knight, the current location in Bethesda is more convenient than the Gaithersburg

location. The St. John's location is also convenient to Metro. However, the demographic study shows a large deaf population in Gaithersburg, so it is important to reach out to that area. Also, as Barbara pointed out, the St. John's congregation is growing - a good thing - but that puts a squeeze on space for events that we need to schedule. Ed Knight expressed a concern that we are "spreading ourselves thin" and it might be more effective to focus our efforts on growing one congregation than growing three or four. Ed also said that many organizations plan events on Sunday afternoons so perhaps more people have Sunday mornings free. The time of the service may be hindering the growth of the Gaithersburg service. Barbara encouraged the Mission Committee to think creatively during the summer and bring ideas to the next Mission Committee meeting in September. Other News Barbara reports that 60 people have registered to attend the ECD Convention. If you are attending the ECD Convention, please bring any historical materials you may have: for instance, old papers, pictures or documents related to the ECD or any ECD churches. We would like to have display of some of history of the ECD. The new church sign on Bradley Lane has been installed. It reflects the change of name of our church from “mission” to “church” and includes the time and location of the service.

It was Shelley Simm’s first year volunteering at camp and she says she wants to come again next year.

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The church website address has been changed to stbarnabasdeaf.edow.org, which is considerably shorter than the old website address. Our church recently gave St. John’s Norwood $1000 toward their capital campaign, as the Mission Committee voted in June as a way to show our appreciation to St. John’s for sharing their space with us for many years. The Vicar’s new laptop has been ordered and received. Barbara is looking forward to learning PowerPoint and plans to use it in her duties as Episcopal chaplain at Gallaudet University as well as for programs at St. Barnabas'. Barbara met with Ed Knight on Wednesday June 30 to discuss the Fall Stewardship Program and computer issues. Barbara agreed to be Ed’s backup Servant Keeper administrator. Ed ensured that Barbara has privileges in the system to administer new users if necessary. Rudy Hines has agreed to be chair of this Fall’s Stewardship Program. He will be assisted by Ed Knight. Thanks, Rudy! On July 4, the Rev. Dr. Roger Pickering led the 10 AM service. Ginny Lindsay performed a beautiful hymn during the offertory and also Sandra Pickering artistically signed a verse from America the Beautiful. On July 11, Barbara consecrated a new Revised Standard Version Episcopal Gospel Book. On July 18, Barbara, Nancy Conger, Christina Duley, Mark Kleberg, Ed Knight, Michael Martin and Shelley Simms attended the St. John’s

Strawberry Festival in Parish Hall. Thank you to St. John’s! On August 5, Ed Knight emailed a letter to the editor of Anglican’s Online http://www.anglicansonline.org/ in response to the question “who are your Anglican heroes?” and it appeared on the Anglican’s online website as of August 9: Two priests who would not limit the love of God My Anglican heroes include the Reverend Dr Thomas Gallaudet, who established the tradition of sign-language ministry among deaf people in the Episcopal Church in 1852. Also the Reverend Henry Winter Syle, ordained in 1876 as the first deaf ordained Episcopal priest and, I believe, the first deaf priest of any denomination. For more information, go to Episcopal Conference of the Deaf website at www.ecdeaf.com. Henry Winter Syle and Thomas Gallaudet share a feast day (August 27th). My parish, St Barnabas' Episcopal Church of the Deaf in the Diocese of Washington, is hosting the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf convention later this month -- and where would we be without Gallaudet and Syle? Volunteers for Choir Needed Barbara would like to know if anyone would like to be in a sign choir, and if so, the Church can order choir gowns.

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The following sermon (edited for space reasons) is reprinted from the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf website (//www.ecdeaf.com, where you can find the complete sermon): Sermon by The Rev. Jay L. Croft, rector St. John's Church for the Deaf Birmingham AL Happy 228th Birthday, America! For many good things, we are thankful to God. For things that need to improve, we pray for wisdom and strength to do them. Which American president was born on the 4th of July? Only one, Calvin Coolidge. His wife was a teacher of Deaf children. I remember seeing her when she visited my school when I was a young boy. Three presidents died on the 4th of July: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson-the second and third presidents, died on the same day July 4, 1826-the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. James Monroe, the fifth president, died one year before that. Something interesting about John Adams and Thomas Jefferson: the two men were good friends in their youth, but when Adams lost the presidency race to Jefferson, the two men became political enemies. They never saw each other again. Eventually they were reconciled and, during the last fourteen years of their lives, exchanged many kind letters. But because of distance and age, they did not meet again in person. Imagine now, with video relay service, they could have chatted with each other every day! All our readings today emphasize one thing: the Lord loves all, so it is our responsibility to love as well. In our first

reading Moses has received the Ten Commandments and is explaining them: "You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Except for those who are full-blooded Native Americans ("Indians"), we all have our roots in another country. Our ancestors came here from many, many different countries. Many came because they could make a better living here. Yesterday morning I drank English tea and made an omelet stuffed with Mexican cheese and taco sauce. For lunch I went to a shopping mall and selected South American chicken, black beans and vegetables. For supper I ate German sausage; and we went to an American baseball game with some friends! The psalm says, "The Lord is loving to everyone, and his compassion is over all his works." God does not play favorites. God does not bless the United States any more or any less than God blesses any other country. Some preachers say that when an earthquake happens in a southern European country, or a hurricane hits Cuba, that is God's punishment. That is nonsense, and an insult to God. The Lord is loving to everyone. When an earthquake or a hurricane happens, God grieves. When people die innocently, God grieves. When young people in the city are killed quickly in a drive-by shooting, or when they die slowly in South Alabama because they feel no hope, God grieves. In our Gospel reading, Jesus changes our habitual thoughts. People have always had a mentality of "us vs. them." "We" are the good guys, and "they" are

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the bad guys. Some are in our approved circle, and some are not. Jesus says, "If you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?" Many years ago, when I was a young priest, I had to be away from my church, St. Ann's for the Deaf in New York City, one Sunday. When I came back, I was curious about who was there last Sunday. I asked one member, an older white woman, to tell me who showed up last Sunday. She answered, "Very, very few." I was puzzled. I gave her some names and she answered, "Yes, he was there. Yes, she was there." Then I gave names of some members who were black. "Was this person in church last Sunday?" "Yes." " Did that person come?" "Yes." I went through the names of all the members, black or white, and surprise! Almost every one had shown up last Sunday. The strange thing about this exchange was that this woman always was very generous to everyone. She loved to make cakes, and she would bring at least two cakes every Sunday. Sometimes she would make two trips on the subway to the church, bringing cakes the day before. At that time there were no elevators on the New York City subways; you climbed the equivalent of two or three flights of stairs when you got on at 231st Street and off at 79th Street, and then walked several blocks more.

But this dear, sweet woman could not "see" all the members of the church equally. She had her friends, and that was her circle. She was very surprised when I pointed out that almost everyone had shown up last Sunday! We have a wonderful country, but we still have a long way to go, many things to improve. We have too much poverty and need, too much crime and despair, too much hatred and jealousy. Our former governor, Don Seigelman, has done some suspicious things, and is going through some legal troubles. The governor of Connecticut recently resigned because of scandal. Various small-town government officials around Alabama and around the nation are caught with their hands in the piggy bank. Open the newspaper any day-you don't even have to open the newspaper, it's all on the front page. Power brings temptation and corruption. When John F. Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961, he said, "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." That should be our attitude as Christian people-to be open, welcoming, caring and giving people. As Christian people we should be asking not what the church should be doing for us, but what we should be doing for the church. We should not be asking what Jesus can do for us, but what we can do for Jesus. We should also be asking what can we do for the state, the nation and the world.

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Note: the senior warden, the junior warden and two members-at-large are elected during odd-numbered years and the secretary and treasurer and the other two members-at-large are elected

Mission Committee Chair: The Rev. Barbara Allen April 2003—March 2006 Treasurer - Ed Knight April 2003—March 2004 Secretary - Rudy Hines April 2003—March 2005 Vice-Chair - Marlene Hines Asst. Vice Chair - Shelley Simms Members - at – Large

Mark Kleberg Jeff Mc Caw

Tonya Stremlau

Worship Ministries Vicar: The Rev. Barbara Allen Consultant for Deaf Ministry: The Rev. Dr. Roger Pickering Response Leader: Tom Hattaway Eucharistic Minister (LEM) Ed Knight (July 2003 – 12/31/06) Eucharistic Visitor (PVLEM): Ed Knight Acolyte: Nancy Conger Altar Guild Marlene Hines, Christina Duley, Phoebe Tharpe

Other Ministries Hospitality Chair: Kary Dyer Tellers Rudy Hines, James Lindsay, John Ricciardi Newsletter Co-editors The Rev. Barbara Allen, Ed Knight Webmaster: Derek Braun Parish Administrator: Tracy Dieter Parish Office Volunteer: Shell Kimble Greeting Card Ministry: Phoebe Tharp 2004 ECD Convention Committee: Kary Dyer, Tom Hattaway, James Lindsay, Rudy Hines ECD Delegate: Tom Hattaway ECD Alternate: Ginny Lindsay Finance Committee: Ed Knight, Jim Lindsay, Jeffrey McCaw, Rudy Hines, Barbara Allen (ex officio) 2004 Stewardship Committee: Rudy Hines, Ed Knight, Shelley Simms Interpreters: Richard Ellis, Libby McKnight, Karen Newquist-Gifford

during even-numbered years. Lectionary Readings can be found on the web at http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church of the Deaf 6701 Wisconsin Avenue Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Next Deadline for Messenger submissions is August 22. Please submit items to the co-editor, Ed Knight by email, if possible, at knighte@washpost.com.

“The peace of the Lord be always with you”